"It's
on the list".
I remember
the first time I heard that statement. It
was in the mid to late 1970s and I was standing in the playground of my Jewish primary
school in the heart of Golders Green. One
of the children had uttered this cryptic message to another child. At the time, I had no idea what this 'list' was. Occasionally, my friends would claim that some
item of food was either 'on the list' or off it.
I was
brought up in a traditional home where we ate kosher and observed Shabbat. My mother didn't cover her hair but neither did
the majority of her friends whose kids also attended the same school. One of the ways we could tell how 'frum' a classmate
was by observing the mothers in their sheitls (or not for that matter) coming to
pick them up at the end of school.
These
were the days before the glossy ‘Really Jewish Food Guide’ and its companion ‘Is
it Kosher?’ app existed. In my childhood
era, the 'list' was literally a sheet or two of paper that those in the know could
acquire from specific locations such as Jewish bookshops.
When I
reflect on those times, I remember how scrupulous my friends were when checking
the 'list'. If it was ‘on’, the food was
permitted, if not, they kept well away. I
think I may have seen it a few times when visiting a mate over Shabbat but that
was as close as I got to the treasured and rare manuscript.
With the
transformation of the list into a book form, a new game began for us newbies. I would peruse its contents to see what I could
and could not eat. Every time an update was
published (in the days before email), I would carefully look through the book and
either add the newly qualified products to an existing line or sadly add a bolded
'NK - not Kosher' label in front of previously approved entries. It always seemed to be the chocolate bars that
ended up being dropped!
I distinctly
remember the first few editions of the aforementioned guide which came out when
I was in my late teens. Suddenly, the 'list'
was available and soon became ubiquitous in our homes. The science and complexities involved in the production
of food now made more sense and the bizarre E471 and E120 codes were to be avoided
at all costs (especially the latter as it signified the product contained cochineal,
otherwise known as ants' blood. Yeuch!
What had
started life as a list was now presented as a thin tome that could sit comfortably
in my mother’s car glove compartment or on a bookshelf.
On the
flip side, every now and then, a product I had chalished (longed) for eons ended
up being relisted. I can't really describe
the thrill I got, and still do, when something I really wanted to eat re-joined
my special ‘kosher club’. Bounty used
to be kosher and then it wasn't and then it was! Sun-Pat Peanut Butter took the same trajectory...and
I won't even mention the ongoing saga of Marmite!
In the
last few years though, something has happened that makes certain product addition
to the lists more and more exciting. Whereas
in the past, I was only aware of the KLBD's efforts to make the edible world as
open as possible (in conjunction with American Kashrut Authorities such as the OU
and Star-K), their previous virtual monopoly on deciding what we can and cannot
eat has been challenged by an exciting new horse in the race.
I give
an extremely warm welcome to the Sephardi Kashrut Authority, otherwise known as
the SKA!
I have
a personal debt of gratitude to the Spanish and Portuguese Community,not only because
I received my Semicha through their network via the Montefiore Endowment, but also
because they really opened up the kosher world in a way that would have been unthinkable
two decades ago. Dayan Amor (ztl), who was
the Rosh Bet Din and head of my Kollel, certified Kingsmill Bread. The KLBD followed suit a few years later by certifying
other companies that manufactured bread such as Hovis and Warburtons. Need I say more?
For the
kosher consumers such as myself, that mysterious list had borne fruit that I could
have never envisioned back in the day. As
of writing, I am rubbing my eyes in disbelief in the knowledge that a few feet away
from me, numerous packets of specifically labelled and certified McVities biscuits
are waiting to be consumed. McVities biscuits
I'll have you know!
In considering
the 'list', I should have realised that the origins of the document I had thought
to be secretly available to a chosen few was in fact exceedingly old.
It was
based on another detailed list - the one we read in this week's Parsha which described
the animals, fish and birds that we are and are not permitted to consume.
What differentiates
its contents lies in the lack of specific detail. Unlike the aforementioned lists, the Torah's description
provides limited information about what makes an animal or fish kosher. Ruminant animals with completely split hooves,
check. Fish with fins and scales, check. Any type of pig meat being prohibited, check. Shellfish are out, check. Certain types of locusts, crickets and grasshoppers,
check (they may be kosher, but I'll pass on them, thank you).
No mention
of mono-diglycerides of fatty acids, stearates, polysorbates or gelatine in the
Torah or references to E120, E422, E570 et al.
It seems
as though, just like the Torah's list of what was permitted or prohibited, the manufacture,
preparation and consumption of food was much easier in the day. You couldn't boil a kid in its mother's milk,
but that didn't prevent the consumption of steak tartare in cheese sauce either. Our Rabbis wisely put paid to this dish when they
forbade the mixing of meat and dairy in all of its forms.
Compared
to the recently published Kashrut Guide, the 1970s list was considerably more compact. The times they are forever a-changin'! I have
no idea what our lists will include in a decade's time and, like us, they are constantly
being updated to fit the times in which they are being consulted.
I fervently
look forward to their contents...and with that in mind, hope that they will at least
include the standard size of Marmite!
Shabbat
Shalom.
